A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mirrors of the type used by people to facilitate performance of personal care functions such as shaving, applying cosmetics, and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a novel travel mirror device which is collapsible into a compact, lightweight, readily transportable assembly, and which includes a pair of mirrors of different relative magnification and an integral annular illuminator which is effective in illuminating objects in front of both mirrors.
B. Description of Background Art
People who travel frequently to distant locations often must deal with the absence of conveniences which are taken for granted in their home environments. For example, women who perform grooming tasks such as applying cosmetics and the like typically perform such tasks at a customary location which is adequately lighted and which is provided with a fixed wall-mounted mirror, or a mirror which rests on a table, vanity or the like. However, lodgings at travel destinations usually do not have the optimal arrangements of lighting and seating located near a suitable mirror, such as one has available at his or her personal residence. Also, many people find it useful to have available mirrors with different magnification factors greater than the unitary or 1× imaging factor of conventional flat mirrors. For example, mirrors having 5× or 9× magnification factors are useful in facilitating the performance of detailed grooming procedures. But most travel lodgings have at best 1× flat mirrors which do not provide magnified images.
In view of the foregoing considerations, it would be desirable to have a mirror device which has multiple magnification factors, and an integral light source for illuminating an object such as a person's face within the object field of the mirror. Moreover, it would be desirable to have a dual magnification mirror with an integral illumination source, which could be folded into a lightweight, compact configuration in which reflecting surfaces of two mirrors were protectively
enclosed for transport in a purse, briefcase or the like, yet be readily unfoldable at a use site such as a hotel room to deploy for use a mirror of selected magnification, adequate size, and adjustable orientation. The present inventor is unaware of any existing mirror device which possesses the foregoing characteristics and the unavailability of the desired combination of features was a factor motivating the present invention.